has certainly lived a sweet life. A former contestant on Bravo'sTop Chef,he is currently the executive chef at the white-hotSurf Lodgein Montauk, Long Island. And now this North Carolina native can add a book to his résumé,The Sweet Life: Diabetes Without Boundaries.
The book offers a candid peek into Talbot's life, combining memoir and cookbook in a well-seasoned mix of healthy recipes, cooking tips, travel stories, and the chef's frank account of his life with diabetes. It's a book he hopes will be embraced by diabetics and nondiabetics alike.
Talbot is a firm believer in eating sustainably, using citrus and spices (including lots of Sri Lankan cinnamon) in place of salt and sugar, and consuming everything in moderation—as opposed to eliminating it completely. He shared three of his tasty recipes with us:Crab Ceviche with Blueberries and Popcorn,Striped Bass with Heirloom Tomato Scampi, andFrozen Coconut Yogurt with Cinnamon. We spoke with the chef on the eve ofThe Sweet Life's publication to find out more about his healthy, flavor-packed cooking, and the story behind the book.
Epicurious:What made you decide to write this book? What was the inspiration?
Sam Talbot:There were a lot of people who approached me about doing a book. At first I didn't think I had anything to write about. I took a long cross-country trip, and when I got back I thought,Wow, Ihavedone a few things, and in living with this disease, perhaps I can share a little bit of knowledge and help raise awareness and educate people about diabetes.
Epi:Is that why you chose to write this cookbook like a memoir?
ST:The way that I eat, the way that I exercise, how I travel, and where I travel—all those things have an effect on my life, and diabetes is just another one of those elements that fall into it. So, instead of categorizing it as this terminal illness, it's not even a bump in the road, it's just a path along the way.
Epi:Are there any cookbooks that influenced you?
ST:I have a giant collection of cookbooks from all over. I refer to a lot of them. My own cookbook falls into a funny category because it's lifestyle and cooking, but in a way it's also medical. There are a lot of medical cookbooks out there about diabetes, and they read like they aremedical: uneventful and sort of boring. There's a book calledCrazy, Sexy Cancerby Kris Carr that served as a really good template: I thought she really delivered the message "Ya know what? F--- cancer." So without saying "F--- you, diabetes," I think we took a good jab at it.
Epi:Which are some of your favorite recipes in your book?
ST:The crab ceviche is just a really fun and unique pull-it-out-of-your-sleeve type of recipe that is always a crowd-pleaser. For years, it was one of the most popular dishes atThe Surf Lodge. It's a funny dish: blueberries, crab, and popcorn. It was my very playful variation on the traditional Peruvian ceviche. Another great dish is the Egg Whites for One with Blueberry and Cinnamon. It's one of those "live well" kind of dishes. I eat that a lot! The blueberries are high in all the antioxidants and vitamins A, C, and E. It feels good in your stomach. And research shows that really anybody should be using half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day. I believe that there are ways to heighten flavors without adding too much salt and fat, and to me cinnamon is a way of avoiding adding too much salt.
Epi:In your book, you talk about when at the age of 12 you first learned you had diabetes. You immediately went to a Friendly's for an enormous ice cream sundae. Did you have to change your diet the next day?
ST:You either panic or you barrel through it. I have always been the type to just face the facts. I don't know, even as a child of 12 you know when it's time to get serious. But by no means was I perfect. I did all the wrong things to get familiar with the right.
Epi:You also mention how you don't believe that people need to deprive themselves of anything completely. What was the hardest thing you had to eat less of when you found out you were diabetic?
ST:Well, my best friend has a weird obsession/addiction with French fries and chicken fingers. So I was eating a lot of French fries and thought,Yo, dude, this is not good.French fries are not dinner.
Epi:What are a few easy changes people with diabetes can make?
ST:Maybe when trying to cut back on salt, try using a few more spices. Also, I would say to stay away from store-bought bottled pasta sauces. You can elevate dishes by using citrus instead of adding sugary and salty sauces. Try almond milk instead of regular milk. There are ways to enjoy dishes that are pinned as unhealthy. Like clam chowder, for example, is not the healthiest thing in the world, but you can play with the roux. I use brown-rice flour and almond milk to make the roux. It's those modern sorts of healthy tweaks that I think make this book unique.
Epi:In terms of alcohol consumption, you mention that one should avoid darker liquors. What about wine?
ST:Wine is higher in antihistamines, so it elevates your blood sugar. Everyone's DNA is a little different. Sometimes people get red faced, and that's because they are affected by the antihistamines and possibly allergic. It's not that only diabetics shouldn't drink wine. It's something that in general people should think about and see how their body reacts to it.
Epi:Are there certain cuisines that are better suited for diabetics, that don't require as many substitutions?
ST:I think it's the best food that passes through your own hands. Take it upon yourself to find foods that are high in alkaline and low on antihistamines, without getting into the craziness of the macrobiotic diets. Disease stems from the acid in your body, so the higher the alkaline, the less prone you are to disease. If you put your life first, even if you don't cook every night, you start to get in the groove of going to the farmers' market, reaching out to fishmongers, and finding out about local food sellers. This book is meant for everybody. That's the beauty behind it. It's for foodiesorfor people who are into the whole body, mind, and soul thing.
Epi:You discuss keeping your stress level down, because stress is not good for you. How do you manage to do that when you are in the kitchen? Is it important for you to eat small meals throughout the day?
ST:I have to remind myself. I think cooks and chefs can get lost in their own minds, and it's important to be in the moment. It's very hard when you are cooking for 200 people on a Saturday night and it's 8 p.m. and you have managers and cooks, and everything is going down. It's very hard to come back to the moment and think,Oh, if I don't eat something…So I really try to be in the present.… There have been several moments when I've had to walk out from the line. You can ask anybody who has worked with me in the last 18 years of my professional career, where I've had to leave the line and ask for a cranberry or orange juice or a bowl of pasta. I can't tell you one person who doesn't have a Sam Talbot low-blood-sugar story.
Epi:The book also mentions how you fell in love with food after eating scrambled eggs and Cheddar cheese at your grandparents'. How do you go about picking fresh eggs now?
ST:To be honest, I like to think about it almost like an egg hunt. Right now I have a house in Woodstock, and a while ago, I was driving to get firewood and I saw a sign that said "Fresh Eggs and Smoked Trout," and this lady had this whole setup of smoked trout and fresh-farm hen eggs. Whether you are in New York City or in a rural area, it's all about searching out the local farmers' market. Even at New York's Union Square farmers' market, they have a ton of egg guys there.
Epi:At 16 you had your first cooking job. Can you tell us about it?
ST:When I was 16, I started working at Dean & Deluca. They had opened a flagship store in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is where I was living. I was working around these amazing chefs and I was 16 years old, and there were these guys who had gone to culinary school—some of them had studied in Paris, some of them at the CIA [Culinary Institute of America].
院长& Deluca,他们给你这本书,和你cook through the book. And I remember them saying, "OK, Sam, today you are the prep cook. Today you have to make these 10 recipes: you have to make hummus, corn muffins, X, Y, Z." And I just sort of remember sitting there, and this guy who was 26 or 27 years old would be reading this book and finally one day I said, "Hey, man, what is that?" He was a guy I looked up to, about 10 years older. And he goes, "I thought you were a serious cook?" to which I said, "I'm not a serious cook, I'm doing this for beer money." He was like, "Maybe you should think otherwise. You are good at it." Anyway, it wasLarousse Gastronomique.
我把一周的薪水,这可能是something like 200 bucks or whatever it was, and I went across the street to the mall and went to Barnes & Noble and bought the book. I didn't understand half of it, but I remember reading it page by page, and it was like a fuel.
Epi:You're well traveled, and many of the ingredients you cook with you've discovered on your travels. What country has influenced your cooking the most?
ST:I love Brazil passionately. You get these crazy-pristine breathtaking mountains and then you have this tumultuous ocean. The food is good, but you talk about Japan, and you go to Tokyo and the food is good, but then you go to Kyoto and it's on a whole other playing field. When was the last time you had a meal and was like, "Wow, this is a really thoughtful meal"? Everything I had in Kyoto was pure, unadulterated thoughtful.
Epi:Both of your restaurants are considered seafood-heavy. In your book you mention your addiction to theSeafood Watch of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. What is your favorite sustainable fish right now?
ST:It's so hard to pick and choose. Things are always changing based on Mother Nature. But right now or when it's in season, my favorite, whether it's from Virginia or Montauk or Block Island, is striped bass. When it's local. When it's hoppin', it's hoppin'.
Epi:Do you have any ingredients that you are obsessed with at the moment?
ST:Fresh stevia, verjus, almond milk, and shirataki noodles.
Epi:Tell us about stevia. And if one doesn't want to use stevia, what other sweetener would you recommend?
ST:I think stevia, if used correctly, works wonders. This one food critic, from theNew York Post,was freaking out because these mussels I made seemed so naturally sweet, and it was really my taking hand-torn stevia leaves and simmering them in the broth. Any vegetable purveyor should have them. And if someone can't find stevia, I would say that Truvia is also great.
Epi:What's next for you? Another restaurant?
ST:I am focused on what I have. I'm really excited about my book. I just want to nurture it and watch it grow, and I hope people get as excited about it as I am. My whole passion is raising awareness and educating and cooking. Not all the questions will get answered in this book, so we'll see what's next.
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